...However, with each collision of the sword and the wheel, the cycle of reincarnation also chipped away at the vengeful spirits lingering around Hayden's sword. This cold, merciless sun, this rational, mechanical millstone of reincarnation, relentlessly ground away the vengeful spirits of four hundred years.
Soon, Hayden's defeat became apparent.
Mitra had already foreseen this outcome and sighed. Although he didn't particularly want to kill Hayden, the current situation, with this unprecedented clash of power, had reached a point where neither side could yield and it was a fight to the death. Even with Mitra's immense power, he couldn't show mercy; he could only annihilate Hayden first and then send him into [reincarnation].
"Loki, you have already lost!"
In a desperate move, seizing the opportunity revealed by his foresight, Mithra's Vajra Wheel transformed into a blade of light that was neither axe nor blade, striking Hayden's already thinned Sword of Words and severing it in two!
The remaining shockwaves were still powerful, slamming hard into Hayden!
Its power was beyond what anyone could withstand. Even with billions of souls surrounding him, even with four hundred years of vengeful spirits present, even with his perfect cultivation level and near-immortal body, Hayden was still pierced through in a single blow.
With a deafening roar, Hayden felt a sharp pain originating from his soul and spirit.
lost.
His spirit, soul, and body were blasted apart by Mithra's Vajra Wheel and severed.
Unable to hold on any longer, Hayden's body, like his sword, was cleaved in two at the waist, his upper half sliding down.
"Impressive, Loki, to be able to fight me like this."
Mithra murmured,
“Since I met the messenger of the Outer Gods four hundred years ago, I believed I had accumulated my power to its fullest extent. If this were just a contest, I might have simply handed the crown of victory to you, considering how well you performed against me.”
Hayden, who had been cleaved in two at the waist, appeared to be motionless and incapable of fighting any further. He made no response.
“But unfortunately, this is a battle of ideologies, a battle of principles, a battle of equals.” So Mithra continued to himself, “I will not make you suffer too much—death, and then we will meet again a hundred million years from now in your subjective time.”
He raised his hand, intending to smash Hayden's broken body in two.
...But the moment of ending has yet to arrive.
Suddenly, although Mithra’s “eyes” couldn’t see anything, he noticed something strange and immediately turned his head.
Then he finally saw that the upper part of Hayden's broken "Sword of Words" had flown into the air and was spinning in the dark StarNet space.
Hayden's "sword of words" is his spoken words, which transform into platinum light, and then into sharp blades. These blades now become light again, and words again, flying like wings towards—
— Flying behind Mitra, sealing Raphael's golden force field sphere.
"how is this possible?"
Mithra was stunned. Because his eyes… his eyes that had seen the heavens and the earth, the past and the future—had never seen this before!
Hayden's scheme was now fully exposed. The crystal prison of force fields that Mitra used to seal Raphael was one of the most solid and indestructible things in the entire universe. But now, just when Mitra thought Hayden was only going to fight him to the death, the final "Sword of Words" could carry enough power to fight Mitra head-on, the power of billions of vengeful spirits yearning for retribution and redemption, and pierce Raphael's seal.
The amber-like force field shattered.
Ten million enormous and graceful wings unfolded within the shattered seal.
Billions upon billions of beautiful eyes open on every feather of the wings.
Among the thousands of wings were four rotating jade rings. All four rings were of the same design, with rings nested within rings, slowly and continuously rotating.
Raphael, the recipient of the Divine Medicine/Healer, has awakened.
"………………So that’s how it is. This is your real scheme."
However, Mithra only hesitated for a second before calming down. After all, he was worthy of being the strongest god in the world.
"But Loki, simply releasing Raphael won't change the outcome. Do you expect it to help you? I'm not even sure if it still retains the memories of the mechanical doll Angela. Even if it does help you, do you think you can win?"
"It might heal you and join forces with you to fight me. But that would just be another non-combat Outer God messenger, just the [Medicine of the Gods]."
Mithra continued to spin and activate the power of [Reincarnation], preparing to launch another attack: "I was indeed frightened by it four hundred years ago, but now I have the faith of an entire world's population and the Secret Fire. Even the messenger of the Outer Gods cannot defeat me, and I will soon defeat [Divine Fire (Uriel)] as well."
"Raphael, along with your deluded and stubborn followers, be defeated by me once again!"
Unfortunately, Raphael completely ignored him. His billions of eyes didn't even look at him. All those billions of eyes were now focused on Hayden on the ground, mesmerized by the sight of Hayden split in two.
Admittedly, Mitra also harbored some doubts. He wasn't entirely sure how Raphael's memories and personality interacted with his original self when Raphael was transformed into the mechanical doll Angela. After all, theoretically, Raphael had been sealed within the moon's core by Mitra for the past four hundred years, kept in a state of slumber. Otherwise, what if Raphael reported him to the Outer Gods? Therefore, Mitra had kept him tightly sealed, to the point that Angela was still somewhat dazed when she first arrived on Earth.
What exactly did Raphael mean by these years as Angela? Was it all just a dream? Do angels dream too, and even become robots in their dreams?
Mitra didn't know; he couldn't see the future.
Hayden… in truth, he didn't know either. He couldn't see this future. Besides, he had already been split in two and was lying on the ground, about to die.
He simply chose to believe.
"Angela".
He struggled to lift his upper body and crawled toward the enormous, incomprehensible alien creature. He was covered in sweat and blood, and a chill ran through him; he was dying.
But Hayden still looked up at Raphael overhead.
"You said that you and I made a promise that as long as I don't expect to be separated, you will always stay by my side."
“You said that as long as I search for you, I will surely find you. As long as I call upon you, you will surely hear me.”
"I'm here now, I've found you, and then..."
His teeth were chattering, and blood and ash were grinding between them, tasting slightly sweet and bitter, but Hayden continued to speak, saying the most important and simplest thing.
"This time, you must... stay with me forever. Angela."
The space was suddenly enveloped in silence.
It's like the computer screen has frozen.
Then the enormous angel bent down and pressed close to Hayden's blood-stained face, and then gently, almost imperceptibly, kissed Hayden's forehead.
The Peacock King, the Feathered Serpent God, and Mithras himself all stated that angels cannot properly understand humanity because they are intelligent beings with a completely different thought process. Their existence is far more distant from humanity than the distance between humans and mice. Before them, humanity is nothing but insignificant dust, theoretically unworthy of their attention or concern.
It's difficult enough for people to understand each other, let alone for intelligent beings that are fundamentally different.
but……
but……
Haven't Angela been trying to understand Hayden all these years, and Hayden been trying to understand her? She wanted to see the world through his eyes, just as he wanted to know what she was thinking.
And... and isn't it possible that being together like this has caused some changes in both Hayden and Angela?
And there was light.
What beautiful light! How incredible! It was so bright, brighter than the sun, that it even scorched Mithras's invincible eyes. It shone like a pearl illuminated by countless suns, overflowing like water, washing over the universe with absolute radiance, yet filled with indescribable joy.
Then the light softened and became less dazzling.
The scene before Mithra's eyes had changed.
Hayden lay with his eyes closed as if asleep, his body, which had been broken in two, now reassembled, leaving only the scar on his waist.
The world's most beautiful wind-up doll laid Hayden between her knees, cradling his body in her hands. She smiled gently, her emerald eyes gazing at Hayden's blood-stained face, filled with a deep and pure love. She was dressed in pure white, her form resembling a wedding gown.
"Of course, Hayden. We'll be together forever and ever."
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447: Mithras died in the sunset
"Hmm, dealing with you Outer Gods is like never knowing what will happen next."
Mitra, as expected of the strongest in the world, was only stunned for a moment when he saw this strange situation, and he showed no fear whatsoever.
"However, it's just one more messenger from the Outer God. A non-combat [Divine Medicine] is nothing more than that."
He was confident and calm.
"Come, Outer God's messenger of healing. How will you join forces with Loki to defeat me?"
Mithra had every reason to be confident. Although Kallen led the combined forces of the gods to wreak havoc on the moon's surface, she couldn't harm the very foundation of [Reincarnation]. At least seven billion souls remained imprisoned within [Reincarnation].
Their distorted chanting, their faith, their secret fire, still endlessly provide energy to Mithras.
So Mithra was certainly confident. Seriously though, objectively speaking, he was indeed stronger than Raphael alone.
Four hundred years ago, Mithra was indeed no match for any fully-formed angel. But now he is at least ten times stronger than before, and he has the faith of the entire world. He is truly that strong now. Even the angelic power of King Samael and his wife couldn't surpass Mithra's. This is a very objective reality.
...That being said, Raphael, holding Hayden, did not appear flustered or afraid at all.
“Long time no see, Mitra.” She even seemed quite indifferent. “Four hundred years have passed, and you have ultimately chosen to become like this. I am very sorry.”
“Stop pretending,” Mitra replied sternly. “We all knew this outcome four hundred years ago. I will crush you all, grind you like beans with the millstone of Reincarnation, separating only Loki and continuing to suppress you. This is the certain future that my eyes have already foreseen.”
His terrible declaration only elicited a soft sigh from Raphael.
“You made the biggest mistake, Mithra, and all the other mistakes stemmed from it.”
She murmured,
"You believe the future you see is unchangeable. But without choices, nothing matters. Can't you see that the reason I didn't destroy you four hundred years ago was so that you, and everyone else in this world, would have the opportunity to make other choices? It is your stubborn belief that the future you see is more important than everyone's freedom and happiness; it is your choice to become a prisoner of fate. Destruction is never predetermined. All of this could have been avoided. It is you who chose to make it happen."
"Similarly, when the rest of the world entrusts their faith and worship to you, when they realize the problem but haven't yet stood up to confront you, the responsibility does indeed fall on everyone's shoulders. Four hundred years ago, you weren't much stronger than other bodhisattvas; a hundred years ago, the social structure you created could still be overthrown and changed by others. Everyone's heart has become a 'choice,' and countless choices have ultimately woven the web of 'destiny' weaving us today."
"However, not everyone in this world submits to you. There are still many who stand up and try to defeat you. So, perhaps there is still one more chance for change?"
Raphael's last words were less a speech to Mithra and more a monologue to himself... or perhaps, a message he intended for Hayden, who was in her arms?
However, Hayden was now pale and had his eyes closed, so it was unclear whether he was asleep or already dead.
Mitra was already very unhappy and had no interest in listening any further.
"The lies of the extraterrestrial invaders can end now." He turned [Reincarnation] and turned his firepower on Raphael and Hayden. "I will swallow you all, then separate you from Loki and discard only your scum."
He would never understand any language, and he would never waver under any circumstances. He wouldn't listen, and he wouldn't trust anyone else. He only trusted himself… no, that's not right either. If he truly believed in the value of self-choice, probably none of this would have happened.
The cycle of reincarnation begins to vibrate.
The roar and the vibrations all tell us that the greatest danger is about to arrive.
However, Raphael remained calm, neither flustered nor worried. Even as Mitra's super cannon was about to bombard her, she simply lowered her head and looked at Hayden in her arms.
She said to him, “Hayden, this is the final choice. Whatever you choose, justice will prevail. Every soul will eventually go to the place they chose in life.”
"But I am Raphael (the medicine of the gods/the healer of the gods), who has come to heal souls; I am also Angela, who has come to fulfill your wish. I love you, and I want to help you achieve happiness—so make a wish, Hayden! I believe in your final choice. I believe that even a choice made now can bring about change!"
This was a final wish, and a final choice. Theoretically speaking, such a choice shouldn't be made on the spur of the moment, just before the enemy's ultimate attack is about to strike.
The combined power of seven billion people pressed down, and Hayden and Raphael were about to be burned to ashes like scraps of paper.
Fortunately, even though Hayden is now on his deathbed, he had already come up with an answer. He had devised a plan to deal with [Reincarnation] and save the world back in the four-hundred-year time portal. This was also the plan he had previously used to persuade Kallen and his core team members.
Things turned out quite unexpectedly for Hayden, but the situation wasn't actually that different.
Raphael and Hayden said, and she said it too, that the world is the way it is today because, ultimately, it is the result of the combined choices of everyone. Those who supported Mithras need no introduction; they were accomplices to evil. As for the silent bystanders, although they did not support him, they wisely chose to remain silent, becoming apathetic spectators, and in fact, they are just as guilty as his supporters.
So Mithra cultivated the land for four hundred years, eventually reaching a point where he could truly rape everyone's mind, forcing everyone to pay the price for their previous numbness and indifference.
But then again, not everyone in this world stands by and watches Mithra wreak havoc. Some will step forward, some will be willing to sacrifice themselves to fight against an evil world. They may not succeed, but they still exist in this world.
Were these people from a race different from humans? Was it because they had an extra gear in their heads, an extra neural circuit, something other inferior mortals lacked? That seems unlikely. Whatever these brave individuals were made of, there should be a common part of everyone somewhere within them. The vast majority of the population should be capable of learning from the actions of the rebels.
So even in death, lying in his grave, Hayden would say:
“Riding a motorcycle without a helmet is a personal freedom. But Mithra’s actions have dragged all of humanity into it, leaving people with no choice.”
"So I made a wish... that all souls entering the cycle of reincarnation would have another chance to choose freely. Let them choose whether to continue to be accomplices to evil, or whether they are willing to stand up and resist."
Mitra, who was not far away, heard this wish and dismissed it: "Even without transcendent enlightenment, the seven billion souls in the Samsara have already reincarnated more than a hundred times. Samsara is not brainwashing magic, nor is it mind interference. They have truly lived for tens of thousands of years, and now they all believe in me. The faith of seven billion people and the energy of the Secret Fire are with me. Even if they were to choose again for the hundred and first time, the result would not change."
But Raphael smiled slightly after hearing this wish.
"I can't do that."
Her words startled Hayden, however,
"But we can definitely do it together."
Then she reached out and wiped the blood from Hayden's face, and gently kissed his cheek. Where she touched him, light burst forth like a flood, enveloping both Hayden and Raphael. Their bodies expanded, their outlines becoming boundless, as if melting into water.
Humans and Angels
Ordinary and sacred
male and female
Death and Life
Hayden and Angela